Tottenham strolled to a comprehensive win at Cardiff City to climb back up to second place in the Premier League table.

Spurs ruthlessly exposed the hosts’ flimsy defending to race into a 2-0 lead after just 12 minutes – Harry Kane bundling in a fortuitous early opener and Christian Eriksen nestling a fine strike into the bottom corner.

Son Heung-Min added a third before the break and, from that point, the untroubled visitors seemed to ease off a little.

Cardiff at least registered their first efforts on target in a low-key second half but the damage had already been done and they remain 16th in the table, three points clear of the relegation zone.

By contrast, a sixth victory from seven league matches closes the gap between Spurs and leaders Liverpool to six points, with the Reds away at third-placed Manchester City on Thursday.

And although the home side were barely in this contest, such a handsome margin of victory and convincing performance was timely for Tottenham, who had suffered a shock defeat at home to Wolves in their previous outing.